Trial of Greeley man accused of sexual assault, second-degree assault set for mid-summer

Robert Merrill, 22, is charged with sexual assault and second-degree assault. His trial, which is set to last six days, is scheduled to begin 8:30 a.m. July 17. He is due in court before that, though, for a motions hearing set for 2 p.m. June 14.

Attorneys in the case of a Greeley man accused of sexual assault and second-degree assault Wednesday set his trial for mid-July. By then, the crimes he's charged with committing will have happened more than a year ago.

According to an affidavit for his arrest, police believe Robert Merrill, 22, raped and assaulted a woman he'd been dating for about seven months in early July 2016. The woman, whose name was not released, told police the two broke up earlier that summer.

According to the report, about 2 a.m. July 2, Merrill and the woman were in his apartment. He was upset with her, she told police, because of the breakup and her interactions with other people.

The affidavit details how Merrill grabbed her by the throat and began choking her, and also states he punched her until she was bleeding from her nose and mouth. According to the report, the woman believed "the safest course of action was to comply with the defendant," as he forced her to have sex with him. As soon as she could, she told police, she fled his apartment and ran up the street to a nearby hotel. Police met her there about 4:30 a.m. that morning, according to the report.

Officers corroborated the woman's account of the night by searching Merrill's home later that same day. According to the report, the apartment was "extremely bloody." The bed sheets, curtains, floors and walls were all stained with blood.

Over the next few days, the report states, officers spoke with Merrill multiple times. The affidavit noted inconsistencies in what he told officers.

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Merrill pleaded not guilty to the charges against him Wednesday. His six-day trial is set for July, but he is next scheduled to appear in court for a hearing in June.

What’s next

Robert Merrill, 22, is charged with sexual assault and second-degree assault. His trial, which is set to last six days, is scheduled to begin 8:30 a.m. July 17. He is due in court before that, though, for a motions hearing set for 2 p.m. June 14.